Anime you hate but everyone seems to like?

[Alleluia_Cone]

I am a prime candidate for this topic.

I unequivocally and irrevocably despise almost every single thing about the Death Note series, with the exception of its production value and artwork.

The fact that series it is so popular--and highly regarded at that, if the polling on Anime News Network is to be believed--is unfathomable to me on so many different levels.

In any case, my grievances against Death Note are far too numerous to list in any great detail, but as a general overview, they include:

1.) Unappealing central character that is essentially evil, yet the series is structured in a manner that expects you to empathize with him.

2.) A general level of unrealism concerning events within the series where simple deductive logic would have prevented Light from alluding capture past the first dozen episodes. I would go into detail about this, but am inclined to believe it would be a waste of brain cells, not to mention of course, time.

3.) Irrational mannerisms and/or personality traits associated with multiple characters, which in turn lead to yet more unbelievable and stupid behavior for said character or characters. There are many examples that come to mind, but perhaps the most idiotic, taken within the context of the age and circumstance of the character, is Light placing mechanical lead on the hinge of his bedroom door to detect intruders. Really, what type of fucking teenager spends time his time so concerned with the minutia of his privacy! (Note: This development in the series actually gave rise to my idea that Light is a serial masturbator.)

4.) This is not exactly a grievance because it is a matter of taste, and in probability, I just don’t ‘get it,’ but I never really found the series humorous during the times it was trying to be humorous. If anything, I laughed at the series when it was being overly dramatic or when it was on one of its binges of self-importance and pomposity. This usually involved Light looking distressed and going through the beginning stages of constipation, or, failing that, when he was laughing manically like a mentally retarded jackal.

5.) Lastly, and most egregiously, I felt that the series was trying to insult my intelligence by taking itself seriously, and thus, expecting me to. That is to say, there was no level of irony contained within any of the events which transpired through the course of series, which made its shortcomings all that more difficult to deal with. It was actually trying to play for realism outside the blatant unrealism of the Death Notes and the Death Gods themselves, which was beyond inane, since even when speaking of the human element to the story, it was most definitely not realistic.

All in all, a series which thinks it is smart, but is really rather shallow and not that intellectually stimulating on any kind of tangible level.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

I know I'm probably going to get flamed for it, but The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was not very enjoyable for me.

The main reasons were that I just didn't buy into it at all. The weird psychadelic idea of Haruhi being God or something was really dumb, and the "vespers and aliens" didn't help any. Add on topp of that disjointed episode order and the really stupid episodes with the bad homemade videos made the series not only boring but downright painful at times. I think people said that it's supposed to be funny (or something---I don't know what), but I couldn't laugh because it was just too "out there". Kyon, the only serious character (imho) was the only reason I watched that show because he was the only real down-to-earth character I saw. I think Haruhi is an interesting character in and of herself, but the weird pseudo-scifi element really annoyed me.

[serenade_beta]

I don't really like the Haruhi Suzumiya series much either. Kyon is also the only real reason I watch it.
My main problem is Haruhi. The fact that she is god of the world, everyone has to make sure she doesn't get pissed off, but at the same time, she's this selfish person that couldn't care much less of others. And that everyone has to stay on her good side or risk the world.
To me, Haruhi is interesting (in her own way), but I can't stand her guts. I think that's why I stopped reading the novels... And because more of her world's people seem to appear later too...

[Reckoner]

I find it very funny that people dislike Haruhi for the very same reasons that people like Haruhi

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

I find it very funny that people dislike Haruhi for the very same reasons that people like Haruhi

It just goes to show you people like and dislike certain/different types of characters, I guess. Not much one can do beyond accepting it.

[Darklord_bg]

I'm probably also going to get stoned for deriding popular anime, but hey - that is the purpose of this topic after all.

I really don't get the obsession with KyoAni/Key's works - Air, Kanon, CLANNAD.

I get it, they have amazing animation and visuals, but so do many other shows which have a much more interesting story and more diverse and memorable characters. Those three shows are generic harem/romance/drama shows with the girls following all the popular archetypes: the smart, quiet one, the cute, shy one, the tsundere, the childhood friend and others. The male protagonists are not your typical loser doormats that you usually see in those sorts of shows, but at the same time they are all generic sarcastic types. Tomoya is a clone of Yuichi, who is a clone of Kyon, who was actually a great character. It's like if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

The plot is also boring and unoriginal. I dropped Kanon after episode 9, I think and I got with CLANNAD only up to episode 5. The whole monotonicity of the pacing really put me to sleep with only an occasional joke to wake me up.

Overall, they are not bad shows, but I just don't see what all the hype is about, since they seem to be so boring. Please tell me, am I missing something, or is it just that I don't like shows of this genre.

Also, while I am still on the subject of KyoAni's works, I also did not understand the obsession with Lucky Star. I watched the first 7 or so episodes and during them I only mildly chuckled at best. I just did not understand the humor at all. I just felt like I had to be a Japanese otaku in order to understand the humor.

By the way, I do not hate KyoAni, I really liked Haruhi and Full Metal Panic/Fumoffu, I thought they were great and unique and innovative, which I cannot say about Key's adaptaions.

[KholdStare]

Ouran High School Host Club. Oh I've tried so hard to get through three episodes, but it couldn't keep my interest. I do realize that it's classified as shoujo, but I like a lot of shoujo anime...just not this one. Maybe it'll get better later on, but I can't stand the torture until then. I'm not seeing how cross-dressing will ever develop into something that will interest me.

[FateAnomaly]

For someone with a SZS avatar, it seems strange that you cannot accept the strangeness level in SHnY. But everyone taste differ so i can't say you are wrong.

Anyway, i personally dislike Shana II (didn't watch I) and Clannad. I don't hate it but i don't like it either.
For Shana, the romance part is boring and so is the combat. Kimikiss romance is good while claymore combat is good but shana is neither.
For Clannad, i think it tries too hard, too deliberate to be sad. I ended up feeling nothing for the characters. In comparison, i was sad watching some episodes of Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori.

Anyway, i think a lot of people liked the show though so there must be something good about them, it is just not my type and i am not picky ( i think) about the show i watch.

Kaze no Stigma is 1 show i regretted watching though i don't if anyone actaully liked the show. The characters in the show are just lacking in the brains department that i have to force myself to finish watching it.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by Darklord_bg

Also, while I am still on the subject of KyoAni's works, I also did not understand the obsession with Lucky Star. I watched the first 7 or so episodes and during them I only mildly chuckled at best. I just did not understand the humor at all. I just felt like I had to be a Japanese otaku in order to understand the humor.

That's the way I felt about Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Too bizarre for me to get my head around and enjoy fully. While some aspects of the show were absolutely brilliant, it was all very hit-and-miss for me. Some episodes had me rolling on the floor laughing while other episodes had me scratching my head and asking myself, "why did I just waste my time watching that?" It's the reason why I'm debating whether or not to bother with watching the second season.

[Wirbelwind8]

From what I noticed about all the people's views, seems like the most widely known shows are the most disappointing. Melancholy, Bleach, DBZ, etc. seem to be brought up the most and with that the most "popular" of shows. Thats what I hate about media, or I guess I could say the "people" around the community of anime. I say this because you expect so much from a series from everyone's reviews and ravings to a point where your disappointed. "wheres the hype? I don't get it.. Was good, but not THAT good"

I did a paper on this with the PS3 and the Wii, the reason why the popularity among them was so spread. Long story short, so much was expected with the PS3, and with the doubt of the wii's concept, was the PS3's downfall (at least when it was released).

The same goes with anime I think. *ramble ramble*

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Darklord_bg

Please tell me, am I missing something, or is it just that I don't like shows of this genre.

Also, while I am still on the subject of KyoAni's works, I also did not understand the obsession with Lucky Star. I watched the first 7 or so episodes and during them I only mildly chuckled at best. I just did not understand the humor at all. I just felt like I had to be a Japanese otaku in order to understand the humor.

You should be able to answer it yourself. You have Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann avatar (Not that I have anything against it.), and Naruto in your signature (This time, I do have something against it).
Second, yes, you sort of have to be able to understand all of their anime references to get Lucky Star. It's possible to enjoy it without understanding all of the jokes, though. For example, I found the Full Metal Panic! references to be funny before I watched the series itself.
It's a lot about taste in this department. Two thirds of the watchers of anime in the United States, for example, will tell you Naruto, Bleach, Code Geass, Death Note, or Fullmetal Alchemist r t3h gratest seris evar liek omg, but these are also the most disliked series amongst people who have watched a greater degree of anime. Personally, I find the constant fighting in Bleach, Naruto, etc. to be too repetitive, and people punching one another in the same fashion repeatedly isn't entertaining to me. To you, watching a series about romance and drama may be a bore, and you'd rather see some real action. It's all opinionated.

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

For someone with a SZS avatar, it seems strange that you cannot accept the strangeness level in SHnY. But everyone taste differ so i can't say you are wrong.

Anyway, i personally dislike Shana II (didn't watch I) and Clannad. I don't hate it but i don't like it either.
For Shana, the romance part is boring and so is the combat. Kimikiss romance is good while claymore combat is good but shana is neither.
For Clannad, i think it tries too hard, too deliberate to be sad. I ended up feeling nothing for the characters. In comparison, i was sad watching some episodes of Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori.

Haha, amen on Zetsubou Sensei.
Shakugan no Shana's first season was inarguably better than its second, and personally, I would never begin a series by watching a sequel (unless it's something like Fumoffu!)
Clannad is also much less depressing than Air, Kanon, and even some other non-Key/Kyoto works, so I guess it's another difference in tastes. (I found someone who watches Kimikiss! Yay! Now I have somewhat of a reason to consider watching it.)

Originally Posted by Spectacular_Insanity

That's the way I felt about Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Too bizarre for me to get my head around and enjoy fully. While some aspects of the show were absolutely brilliant, it was all very hit-and-miss for me. Some episodes had me rolling on the floor laughing while other episodes had me scratching my head and asking myself, "why did I just waste my time watching that?" It's the reason why I'm debating whether or not to bother with watching the second season.

Yeah, many slice-of-life and surreal comedies are like that. Though I thoroughly enjoyed Lucky Star, Pani Poni Dash!, Minami-ke, etc., some episodes I had cruised through with few laughs. It's very hard to rate a series of this genre without first seeing the whole (Or a large percentage of the) series.

[Liddo-kun]

Originally Posted by Wirbelwind8

From what I noticed about all the people's views, seems like the most widely known shows are the most disappointing. Melancholy, Bleach, DBZ, etc. seem to be brought up the most and with that the most "popular" of shows. Thats what I hate about media, or I guess I could say the "people" around the community of anime. I say this because you expect so much from a series from everyone's reviews and ravings to a point where your disappointed. "wheres the hype? I don't get it.. Was good, but not THAT good"

Honestly, I found Naruto and DBZ to be crap without reading any anime reviews about them. Watched them on TV even before I owned a computer to see anime reviews on the internet.

Dragonball - Goku fights a hard boss. Boss fu**s up Goku. Goku gets stronger. Goku kills boss. Now. Another hard boss comes, Goku gets fu**ed up, again. Goku gets stronger and learns something new, and kills boss, again. Uh... ANOTHER boss comes, again. Goku gets fu**ed up, again. Goku gets stronger, and learns something new, again. And then he kills the boss, again. Oh, and drag this on several hundred episodes.

Naruto - season 1 was great, right until the time they were searching for the new Hokage I liked the series - it was awesome. Then it became 80% filler, anime is now 200+ episodes with no end in sight. They just keep prolonging this series to make money.

[Darklord_bg]

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

You should be able to answer it yourself. You have Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann avatar (Not that I have anything against it.), and Naruto in your signature (This time, I do have something against it).
Second, yes, you sort of have to be able to understand all of their anime references to get Lucky Star. It's possible to enjoy it without understanding all of the jokes, though. For example, I found the Full Metal Panic! references to be funny before I watched the series itself.
It's a lot about taste in this department. Two thirds of the watchers of anime in the United States, for example, will tell you Naruto, Bleach, Code Geass, Death Note, or Fullmetal Alchemist r t3h gratest seris evar liek omg, but these are also the most disliked series amongst people who have watched a greater degree of anime. Personally, I find the constant fighting in Bleach, Naruto, etc. to be too repetitive, and people punching one another in the same fashion repeatedly isn't entertaining to me. To you, watching a series about romance and drama may be a bore, and you'd rather see some real action. It's all opinionated.

First of all, it's usually a bad idea to judge someone's overall tastes based on their sig/avatar, since most people here change them pretty often. In my case, I do like mostly action shows but that doesn't mean I cannot enjoy other genres. For example I enjoy an occasional drama (Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien), a horror/mystery series (Higurashi), a shoujo comedy (Ouran High School Host Club) and I'm not really sure where to put Haruhi, since it is unique. Those are only a few titles of great shows of genres different than action/fighting that are among my favorites, just to show you that I am not an action/shounen freak I've also seen many others.

I'm glad that you agree that you have to understand the anime references to find Lucky Star funny, but I have to note that in the first several episodes there were not so many anime references(or maybe I just didn't catch them), but there was a lot of otaku-based humor, which I just did not find funny. FMP Fumoffu on the other hand is more conventionally funny and perhaps one of the most enjoyable shows I have ever watched.

I don't know how you got the idea that shows like Death Note, Code GEASS and Fullmetal Alchemist are "most disliked amongst people who have watched a greater degree of anime". All three of them are great innovative shows with compelling memorable characters and they go beyond the traditional action/fighting genre. They are some of the best shows in the last few years, and from my impression the majority of the fans really love them.

Naruto is one of the first shows that I watched and as such will always have a special place in my heart. The first 100 or so episodes were great before they started stretching the plot (eps 100-135) and the fillers. After that I stopped watching the anime but continued reading the manga, which I still do, and it is still as great as it ever was. Nevertheless, I still re-watch some of the old episodes occasionally and I still enjoy them almost as much as when I first watched them. I think most of the hate directed at Naruto is because of the fillers and the insanely stretched out pacing of Shippuden, not because of the plot of the show itself.

With Bleach, I tend to agree, I never really found it interesting enough. There were some good moments in the Soul Society Arc but overall it is just a pale version of Naruto.

I can understand if you don't like the constant action and sword slashing, but shounen shows are not just about that - they also have great characters and plot twists that make you hunger for more, which is more than I can say for most new series that have come out recently.

[Leon_Lelouch]

Well for now.... I hate Naruto the most... And I cant understand why it's so popular.....
I liked it first but after a long long episodes.... It became soooooo boring that's when I think "how could I like this anime?"

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Darklord_bg

First of all, it's usually a bad idea to judge someone's overall tastes based on their sig/avatar, since most people here change them pretty often. In my case, I do like mostly action shows but that doesn't mean I cannot enjoy other genres. For example I enjoy an occasional drama (Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien), a horror/mystery series (Higurashi), a shoujo comedy (Ouran High School Host Club) and I'm not really sure where to put Haruhi, since it is unique. Those are only a few titles of great shows of genres different than action/fighting that are among my favorites, just to show you that I am not an action/shounen freak I've also seen many others.

I just wanted to give some random concrete (sort of) evidence, and with no other alternatives, chose your avatar and signature.

Originally Posted by Darklord_bg

I'm glad that you agree that you have to understand the anime references to find Lucky Star funny, but I have to note that in the first several episodes there were not so many anime references(or maybe I just didn't catch them), but there was a lot of otaku-based humor, which I just did not find funny. FMP Fumoffu on the other hand is more conventionally funny and perhaps one of the most enjoyable shows I have ever watched.

No, I'm quite sure it's that the first couple episodes just weren't as good. I'm glad we agree. I believe they changed directors after a certain number of episodes, I'll say four (as the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann incident was also the fourth.) and hope I'm right. *cross fingers?

Originally Posted by Darklord_bg

I don't know how you got the idea that shows like Death Note, Code GEASS and Fullmetal Alchemist are "most disliked amongst people who have watched a greater degree of anime". All three of them are great innovative shows with compelling memorable characters and they go beyond the traditional action/fighting genre. They are some of the best shows in the last few years, and from my impression the majority of the fans really love them.

Oh, that was a mistake on my part. I, too, have seen the three latter series and thoroughly enjoyed them (though I wouldn't place Fullmetal Alchemist on the same level as the former two.) Though I admit that they ended a lot weaker than they had started off, they are popular amongst all kinds of fans nonetheless, so disregard my unclear statements.

Originally Posted by Darklord_bg

Naruto is one of the first shows that I watched and as such will always have a special place in my heart. The first 100 or so episodes were great before they started stretching the plot (eps 100-135) and the fillers. After that I stopped watching the anime but continued reading the manga, which I still do, and it is still as great as it ever was. Nevertheless, I still re-watch some of the old episodes occasionally and I still enjoy them almost as much as when I first watched them. I think most of the hate directed at Naruto is because of the fillers and the insanely stretched out pacing of Shippuden, not because of the plot of the show itself.

I can understand this, as Bleach was an early anime I watched, but became disinterested in after the fillers began. As such, I often will hold Bleach on a higher pedestal than Naruto (Which I have watched very inextensively). From what I hear of Naruto (confirmed by you as well), it too steadily became weaker after some time.

Originally Posted by Darklord_bg

I can understand if you don't like the constant action and sword slashing, but shounen shows are not just about that - they also have great characters and plot twists that make you hunger for more, which is more than I can say for most new series that have come out recently.

Actually, there are very few shonen shows that fall into this category. Naruto and Bleach are current longer ones, Inuyasha, Rurouni Kenshin, Dragonballz, are some of the older, Fullmetal Alchemist arguably.
Though I generally don't like to partake in these types of series, I have to admit that I enjoyed a good deal of Bleach, and I liked Full Metal Panic! and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (though they aren't necessarily in the same category) after opening up to other genres, mecha in this case.

[Ermes Marana]

Originally Posted by Alleluia_Cone

In any case, my grievances against Death Note are far too numerous to list in any great detail, but as a general overview, they include:

1.) Unappealing central character that is essentially evil, yet the series is structured in a manner that expects you to empathize with him.
.

Eh?

Light IS an unappealing character.

Not only is he an evil murderer, but on a smaller scale look how terribly he treats the girls that like him.

Death Note makes absolutely no attempt to make him appealing, in fact it takes every opportunity to make him look worse.


However, that doesn't make it a bad show. In fact, the show is brilliant precisely because they were able to center it around a deliberately unlikeable, evil character and still have it be compelling.


You seem to have misread the type of story it is. You assumed it wants you to empathize with Light. But it all builds up to

Spoiler for Death Note:

Light getting shot, showing how pathetic he is while screaming about killing everyone, and finally getting killed by Ryuk.

[Wirbelwind8]

Originally Posted by -boiledliddo-

Honestly, I found Naruto and DBZ to be crap without reading any anime reviews about them. Because I've watched them on TV even before I owned a computer to see anime reviews on the internet.

Dragonball - Goku fights a hard boss. Boss fu**s up Goku. Goku gets stronger. Goku kills boss. Now. Another hard boss comes, Goku gets fu**ed up, again. Goku gets stronger and learns something new, and kills boss, again. Uh... ANOTHER boss comes, again. Goku gets fu**ed up, again. Goku gets stronger, and learns something new, again. And then he kills the boss, again. Oh, and drag this on several hundred episodes.

Naruto - season 1 was great, right until the time they were searching for the new Hokage I liked the series - it was awesome. Then it became 80% filler, anime is now 200+ episodes with no end in sight. They just keep prolonging this series to make money.

But they were crap because they were shows everyone knows about them via Cartoon Network . Whats sad is that in order to know about the constant repetition in DBZ, you would have to watch at least 100 episodes (so it must be good enough to watch that much eh?)

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by -boiledliddo-

Dragonball - Goku fights a hard boss. Boss fu**s up Goku. Goku gets stronger. Goku kills boss. Now. Another hard boss comes, Goku gets fu**ed up, again. Goku gets stronger and learns something new, and kills boss, again. Uh... ANOTHER boss comes, again. Goku gets fu**ed up, again. Goku gets stronger, and learns something new, again. And then he kills the boss, again. Oh, and drag this on several hundred episodes.

You forgot something. Goku dies. He gets brought back to life. He dies again, is brought back to life again. Once more he dies, gets a halo, hangs out for while, then disappears "forever". Only not. He gets brought back to life once more, only this time he doesn't die. He gets turned into a little kid, f's up the show in general, and ruins what had previously been my positive opinion of the DB series. Anything after the Cell (Seru) Saga was complete and utter CRAP.

[Wirbelwind8]

Originally Posted by Spectacular_Insanity

You forgot something. Goku dies. He gets brought back to life. He dies again, is brought back to life again. Once more he dies, gets a halo, hangs out for while, then disappears "forever". Only not. He gets brought back to life once more, only this time he doesn't die. He gets turned into a little kid, f's up the show in general, and ruins what had previously been my positive opinion of the DB series. Anything after the Cell (Seru) Saga was complete and utter CRAP.

So true and so sad... because I watched enough to know...

[Skyfall]

I have a definite candidate here - Eureka 7. I kept hearing nothing but good references about the show and kept seeing it being praised to high heavens for being made of nothing but awesome and so forth. So i finally sat down to watch it ... and god, was i disappointed. I watched 9 episodes before dropping it, and it was like a weight lifted from my shoulders.

It had cliche sprayed all over it, absolutely unappealing set of characters that you are meant to rather dislike and feel miserable for instead of being remotely likable (With the exception of Eureka maybe) and the story didn't seem to be going anywhere meaningful anytime soon. Having mecha that fly on surfboards and transform in to oversized "cars" does not exactly add bonus points on my side. I simply couldn't stand more than 9 episodes of this thing. I have a number of mecha shows i hold in high regard, but Eureka 7 is certainly not one of them. Call me blind, but i certainly didn't see anything great in the show ... heck, i didn't see anything good in the show either.